Pedery: “The wetlands in these refuges are really the smallest point in the hourglass. This is where these birds stop to rest, to feed and sort of refuel before they continue the next leg of their migration. “

Pedery says this year, the refuges have just a quarter of the water they need to support the fall migration.

His group and others want the Bureau of Reclamation to send more water to the wetlands. The Bureau of Reclamation is in charge of water diversions in the Klamath basin.

A spokesman for Reclamation says the agency is legally required to deliver water to farmers and to salmon first.

And he is hopeful the agency will able to release more water into the refuges in October.